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Privacy advocates are questioning moves by popular dating apps to help prosecutors in the wake of the U.S. Capitol insurrection that occurred on Jan. 6.
Both Bumble and Match Group, the company running Tinder, Hinge, OKCupid, PlentyofFish and Match, have been turning over content of the siege posted to their platforms to the FBI and other law enforcement authorities, according to a Washington Post report and are “working to remove” those known to be involved.
A Bumble representative confirmed with the Washington Post on Saturday that staff were kicking users off the app if they had posted pictures or video of the Capitol siege.
“If someone has or is in the process of committing a potentially criminal act on our platform, we will take the appropriate steps with law enforcement,” Bumble said in a statement.
Match Group says it’s cooperating with authorities on their apps as well and enforcing a long standing policy against violence and threats.
“We have, and will continue, to ban any users wanted by the FBI in connection with domestic terrorism from all of our brands, and we always cooperate with law enforcement in their investigations,” Match spokeswoman Vidhya Murugesan told the Washington Post.
After the violence on Jan. 6, the FBI set up an anonymous tip system looking for evidence of people who breached the Capitol and as of last week, were inundated with more than 100,000 pieces of digital content in the form of videos and photos.
Some of these tips came from singles “catfishing” Trump supporters logging into the apps following the Capitol siege, according to the Washington Post report.
“I know a friend of a friend who changed her preference on Bumble to Conservative. She’s matching with MAGA bros and they’re bragging and sending her pics and videos of them in the Capitol. She’s sending them to the FBI,” D.C. area attorney Allison Norris said in a tweet.
Users reporting other users on these dating apps forced Bumble to temporarily disable a filter that allowed search based on political leanings. Many Washington, D.C. women were identifying suspected Capitol insurgents by picking out men who identified as conservative, according to Gizmodo.
Ashkan Soltani, who works at Georgetown Law Center’s Institute for Technology Law & Policy, says there’s a fine line between enforcing policy and invading privacy.
“There’s a likely challenge of both false positives and false negatives,” he said, referring to the potential of inaccurately tying a person to the Capitol siege. “I’m not sure a dating app should be in the business of trying to make these determinations.”
App users typically consent to terms of service, which spell out an agreement between the company and the customer. Bumble and Match Group dating apps all have language that allows users to be removed if they don’t comply, but sometimes it’s not always so clear.
Bumble has recently settled for $22.5 million in a class action lawsuit claiming they automatically charged users unfairly.
Do you think these dating apps are violating privacy by handing over content to the FBI? Let us know what you think about Bumble and Match Group’s practices in the comments below.
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One thought on Capitol Rioters Singled Out By Dating Apps Tinder, Bumble
It’s great these sites are turning in info on riot lawbreakers. If anyone breaks the law then boasts by posting their pics. “you get what you deserve” (your 15 minutes of shame fame)